Generations of Americans have gotten relief from the prospect of poverty and suffering in their later years because of these two important resources.
When I was a state representative, I remember helping a neighbor with paperwork to explore their eligibility for Maine's Circuit Breaker program. In his 80's, this hard-working Mainer had only stopped working a year or two before. He and his wife had joined the workforce as teenagers, he as a truck driver and laborer, she as a housekeeper and waitress. Social Security provided their only retirement income and Medicare their only health safety net, and allowed them to live independently. They, like millions of other Americans, gave much to this country with their hard work. They and their families earned the right to live out their golden years in dignity and without fear. As your United States Senator, I will fight against returning to a time when Americans had to fear the day when they were too old or too ill to provide for themselves.